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It cannot be denied that the days and weeks leading up the final medical examinations are nail-bitingly nervous. Amidst efforts to memorise as many facts as possible and hone clinical skills, I found my mind wandering to the logistical aspects surrounding the day of the exam. Where would I be posted? What time would I have to be there? How many cases would I get? How many examiners would there be? Would there be any breaks in the day? Of course, rumours run riot at such times of the year, and nobody seems to know anything for sure.

I hope that the following will allow you to build a mental picture of what happens on the days leading up to the final exam, and proceedings on the day itself. As with most stressful events, the reality is rarely as terrifying as one might imagine.

Two to three days before the 'big day', a list will be made readily available (eg. on the usual notice-boards and on the internet). This list details where every student will be posted for their final exam. An example might be:

In 2003, each student was issued an anonymous code (eg. '11113' in the example above). Students checked the timetable to see their number in three places. The three parts to the exam were: two sets of clinical cases (the 'short cases') and one history taking examination (the 'long case'). The history taking exam was either: medical, surgical, geriatric medicine, general practice or psychiatry. Students were informed as to which of the above options they would be getting for their history taking exam.

On the day of the exam, students were all expected to turn up at the same time to a specified location in the hospital to which they had been posted. A mini-bus service was provided to take students to more distant hospitals, should they wish to avail of the service.

My experience of the day itself was as follows. I arrived at the hospital at 8:45 am, and made my way to the designated waiting room. This was a regular waiting room, usually occupied by patients. Students were provided with drinking water while we waited for our time. When the allocated time came round, I was ushered into a corridor where I was introduced to my two examiners - one was a surgeon, the other a physician. (Some students had a psychiatrist in place of a physician). After making me feel very much at ease, I was beckoned into the first side-room off the corridor, and set eyes upon my first patient. The examiners then took it in turn to take me to patients - the surgeon only asking questions at the surgical cases, and the physician at the medical ones. Thirty minutes later (although it seemed much shorter), a bell was rung marking the end of the first set of 'shorts'. I was shown into another waiting room, where I had to stay until all the students had finished their round of short cases.

When everyone was finished, we were ushered to another part of the hospital, under the guard of an registrar. After a 15 minute coffee break, we were back to work, with the second set of 'shorts'. These were conducted in a similar fashion to the first set, with a different pair of examiners.

The short cases finished at around lunch time, and we were free to meet up with the other students for a bite to eat.

After lunch, I had to sit around until it was time for my history taking examination. Some students had to leave the hospital to get to another venue for the afternoon session (eg. a GP's surgery, or a psychiatric unit), but the majority remained at the same hospital. When the time came, I was introduced to a third set of examiners. My long case was a surgical one, and both of the examiners were surgeons. I was introduced to my patient, and began the much-rehearsed history-taking process. The examiners sat in with me for the first 5 to 10 minutes, before leaving the room. After a total of 40 minutes, they came back into the room. I then had to present the history and examination. There then followed a discussion of various aspects surrounding the patient's case. Before I knew what was happening, I was being told that the exam was over, and that I was free to go.

It takes some time for the reality to hit you. Finals are over, and all thoughts turn to results day. Yet again, rumours were flying, and nobody seemed to know how exactly the results would be delivered. The reality was as follows.

We were asked to turn up to the lower lecture theatre in the RVH at 8:45 am. A list of anonymous codes was then put up on an overhead projector. One list of codes was for students who were required to attend for a pass/fail oral, and another list was of students who were invited to attend for a distinction oral. As far as I remember, if your number was not listed, you could assume you had passed.

The official results ceremony was held later that day at the back of the Whitla Medical Building. In a very grand gathering of the medical faculty, the names of those students who had passed were read out, along with details of any honours or distinctions.